Life of Riley keeps getting better at Bloom

Saturday

So when Bloomsburg field hockey coach Jan Hutchinson wanted to see Riley make a few improvements in her game during the offseason, the former Pocono Mountain East standout got down to business.

"When playing at the collegiate level the game is played at a faster pace," said Riley, a three-sport star at East who was an All-Mountain Valley Conference first-team selection a total of seven times. "Coach kept telling me if I made my moves early no one would be able to stop me. I also had some trouble with my one-on-one defense when I came in last year.

"Knowing that I needed to improve on both of these I made sure once our individual practices started to mainly focus on getting better at them."

Riley's progress was easily noticeable to Hutchinson, who has led the Huskies to the past three Division II national titles and 15 in her 31 seasons.

"She is an extremely hard worker and last spring she fully embraced the things that she needed to improve upon for this fall," Hutchinson said. "She has improved more in a short time that I thought she would. I know she worked hard all summer as well and it shows."

And not just in her play.

There were times as a freshman last season — Riley scored 12 goals in a reserve role — when the confidence she displayed at Pocono East wasn't always there. That was another thing Riley focused on improving.

"I believe a big downfall of my freshman season was my lack of confidence at times," Riley said. "Coming into preseason this year I stopped second guessing myself, which is huge!"

Next up is an increased role for her this year.

Gone is record-setting forward Jamie Vanartsdalen, the two-time D-II Player of the Year who ended her career at Bloomsburg with D-II records of 120 goals and 298 points. She was also the only player in D-II history to ever score 100 points in a season 102 in 2008).

Riley, who scored 50 goals at PM East including 34 as a senior, is a player Hutchinson will look to to pick up some of that scoring burden.

"It will be hard to replace Jamie and all of her accomplishments, but) I was really excited about how much Amanda's stick work and field play have improved since the spring hockey season," said Hutchinson, who has coached 10 D-II Players of the Year. "She looks great. Her skills are strong, she has great speed and she is tough and dynamic.

"We expect her to have a great season for us and should be one of our leading scorers."

While Riley's play during her short time at Bloomsburg has opened eyes, it was something that happened near the end of a practice last season that got her some unwanted attention.

With just five seconds remaining in a scrimmage, Riley got hit just above her right eye with the ball. After a trip to the emergency room, a frozen bag of peas provided some relief, but didn't shield her from getting plenty of stares on campus.

"Being a freshman on a college campus, your No. 1 goal is to blend in and not let other people know you're new," Riley said. "I had to walk around with a huge band-aid over my eyebrow and had a swollen black and blue eye. I stuck out like a sore thumb. Since skipping class was not an option I had to deal with everyone staring at me and asking me if I got in a fight.

"I made sure to wear field hockey apparel until it was better. At least now they knew I was an athlete."

An athlete who sees a long future for herself in field hockey.

At first, Riley intended to become a physician's assistant, but is now an education major who one day hopes to become a field hockey coach.

"I have always wanted to become a field hockey coach," Riley said. "My freshman year in college assured me that my love for the game is something that I wanted to continue even after I'm done playing."

She has a vote of confidence from the winningest field hockey coach in NCAA history.

"Amanda has such a passion for the game," Hutchinson said. "This, along with great natural athletic ability, are what make her so successful as a player). She would make a great coach someday because of her passion and her selflessness."

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